Govt to introduce new curriculum in 2004

Govt to introduce new curriculum in 2004

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is planning to introduce a new education
curriculum in 2004, offering less subjects and giving more
authority to schools, especially teachers, in determining
subjects suited to local conditions.

Ministry of National Education's Director General of
Elementary and High School Education Indra Djati Sidi said on
Tuesday that it was urgent to implement the competence-based
curriculum to improve the country's human resources.

"We have to step forward to mend our old shortcomings," Indra
said, adding that all designated ministries should join forces
with the education ministry in upgrading the country's quality of
education.

Details of the new curriculum could not be revealed as it is
still being finalized by the Ministry of National Education.

According to Indra, the current 1994 content-based curriculum
was considered too demanding, therefore students were not taught
to think.

Currently, more than 11 subjects are being taught in
elementary schools, giving no chance for teachers to develop the
materials.

The Hong Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy
(PERC) reported earlier this year that Indonesia's education
system ranked 12th in Asia behind Vietnam which came 11th in
2001. The United Nations Development Program said earlier that
Indonesia's Human Development Index ranked 102nd in the world.

Noted education expert Muchtar Buchori, who was involved in
drafting the National Education bill, said the new curriculum
should encourage a democratic education system, where teachers
are given authority to decide on the subjects taught in their
schools.

"There must be a curriculum change," Buchori said on
Wednesday, underlining that the change was needed to improve the
quality of human resources in Indonesia.

Buchori warned that changing the curriculum of elementary and
high schools was not the only answer to the education system
problem, but just the beginning of a process that required
further implementation and enrichment.

Another education expert Arief Rachman said on Tuesday the
poor result of school graduates was due in part to the
government's failure to put education as a priority in national
development programs.

"Consequently, the government allocates an insignificant
amount for national education," he said.

Darmaningtyas, an education researcher, said that a curriculum
change would not automatically improve the quality of education.

"A curriculum will not work well without creativity on the
part of the teachers in teaching and learning activities,"
Darmaningtyas said.